Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Elevated interleukin-6 (IL-6), a major mediator of the inflammatory response, has been implicated in androgen receptor (AR) activation, cellular growth and differentiation, plays important roles in the development and progression of prostate cancer, and is a potential target in cancer therapy.

METHODS: In an attempt to identify potential inhibitors of IL-6, DU145 human prostate cancer cells that express IL-6 autocrine loop were treated with compounds from the Natural compound library (TimTec LLC, Newark, DE) for 24 hours. The Natural compound Library consisted of 440 natural compounds with minimal purity of 95%. The media were collected and used for measurement of IL-6 protein by ELISA. Compounds that decreased the levels of IL-6 protein by 50% were selected for further characterization.

CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results demonstrate that andrographolide could be developed as a therapeutic agent to treat both androgen-stimulated and castration-resistant prostate cancer possibly by suppressing IL-6 expression and IL-6-induced signaling.